Scientists have discovered that parts of the brain selectively respond to the sounds of songs | Chemistry

Scientists say they have discovered an unexpected reaction to singing in the brain, although it may not have appeared in West End musicals yet.

Researchers say they have discovered a specific group of neurons that appear to respond selectively to the sound of a song.

Write in the journal Current BiologyHow did a team of US scientists discover by recording the electrical activity of the brains of 15 participants who had electrodes inserted inside the skull to monitor seizures before surgery. I am reporting.

The team recorded electrical activity in response to 165 different sounds, from instrumental music to speeches to dog barks, and processed them using algorithms. They combined the results with data from fMRI brain scans previously collected from 30 different individuals to map the location of patterns in the brain.

Dr. Samuel Norman-Haignere, co-author of a University of Rochester-based study, said the team decided to combine data from different approaches to overcome their weaknesses and combine their strengths.

“FMRI is one of the flagship products of human cognitive neuroscience, but it’s very coarse. Intracranial data is much more accurate, but spatial coverage is very poor,” he said.

The results confirm previous findings from fMRI scans that some neurons respond only to voice or more strongly to music. However, they also revealed a population of neurons that appeared to respond selectively to the sound of the song, showing only a very weak response to other types of music or speech.

“These results suggest that musical expressions are divided into selective subpopulations for different types of music, one of which specializes in song analysis,” the team wrote. increase.

This work reveals that these song-specific neurons are located in the superior temporal gyrus and appear to be near previously identified areas, especially in response to music and conversation.

The authors write that it is likely that song-selective neurons were not found in previous studies using only fMRI scans, because electrodes can be used to measure neuronal activity in greater detail.

Researchers add that work is currently underway to understand whether these areas of the brain are reacting songs, such as pitch and timbre, or melody and rhythm. Development or evolution.

“Our research shows the first step in answering these long-standing questions,” the author writes.

They also study the effects of activating areas of the brain associated with songs, noting that songs can elicit specific emotions and memories, and explore their interactions with other parts of the brain. Increase your chances of doing it.

Sophie Scott, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University College London, who was not involved in the study, welcomed the study.

“Singing voice is the only instrument that most people are born with, so you might expect it to have a very different relationship to human singing than other types of music,” she said.

“We know that there are some important differences between the brain system that controls how we speak and the brain system that controls how we sing. Therefore, when listening to human songs, these differences It’s very interesting to see some. “

Dr. Ediz Sohoglu, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Sussex, said the findings were impressive.

“One of the interesting questions that arise is why the brain has evolved or formed by experience to develop such specialized neurons. Multiple types of sounds using the same neuron for multiple purposes. Would you like to handle it? “He said.

“One possibility is that having special neurons helps listeners focus on a particular sound in a noisy environment. For example, when listening to a concert with a favorite singer, I It can be easier to ignore the loud conversations behind. This is represented by another part of my brain. “